“I think it’s a first for most of us,” Laura Supper says in the CBS video news report atop this post. “There’s not too many coyotes here in New York, but as they say, anything is possible.”

The coyote was first spotted by tenants with views of the L.I.C. Bar in Long Island City. It scampered back and forth, and gazed curiously at tenants.Some reports questioned whether it was, in fact, a coyote, and not a dog.

But it looked like a coyote, moved like a coyote, and acted like a coyote when it eluded police by scampering along a ledge to another roof and jumping through an open window.

“He’s still at large,” Brian Porter, the bar owner, told the New York Post.

Porter added that he believes the coyote lives in a vacant building next door, and gained access to the bar’s roof via another open window.

Coincidentally, one of the musicians for a jazz quartet with a gig at the bar on Monday night is named Coyote Anderson.

Mar 26, 2015

Ben Stack was admiring the fighting spirit of a small threadfin he had hooked while fishing recently off the Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia, when suddenly there was a snag.

Stack thought the fish had dashed for cover under a log, so he continued to pull and reel, hoping to dislodge the log and claim his prize.

Finally, he began to gain line. Feeling victorious, he leaned over the rail and prepared to reach into the murky water and grab the log and his fish, only to spot a large crocodile with its jaws clamped on the fish, staring at Stack.

“We were face to face and no more than 20 inches apart,” Stack described on Facebook. “Fright kicked in, I released the leader and flew backwards into the boat.”

Moments later, after Stack had regained his composure and snapped two photographs, the line broke, and the croc swam off with the threadfin.

Which was just fine with Stack.

“I wasn’t disappointed to lose the fish,” he told TIME. “But I don’t like the idea of that croc knowing he can come to a boat for a free meal.”

Mar 25, 2015

Giant manta rays are revered by divers, who find their presence soothing because they’re so gentle, and soar through the ocean with such grace.

But during a recent expedition to a remote area off Peru, Josh Stewart was surprised to find himself being tucked into the winged fins of a 15-foot manta and somersaulted during a brief encounter that may be the first of its kind.

“In all my years of filming and interacting with manta rays, I have never witnessed such an extraordinary interaction between a manta ray and a swimmer,” Shawn Heinrichs, a renowned photographer and cinematographer, wrote on the WildAid blog.

Josh Stewart attempts to take photo of manta, before it sweeps him up; video screen grab

Stewart was photographing the manta ray as part of a long-term identification project for Manta Trust, aimed at better understanding these mysterious plankton eaters.

“I was just swimming down as I usually do to capture a manta ID shot and before I knew it, I was engulfed in the wings of this massive manta as I tumbled through the water,” Stewart recalled. “I suffered no injuries but it was certainly a big surprise.”

It must have been a huge surprise, as mantas are among the ocean’s gentlest of giants. Divers used to ride on their backs, before that came to be regarded as intrusive and disrespectful.

Heinrichs theorizes that this manta may have never encountered a diver before, and was merely reacting to the presence of a strange invader in its midst.

“Perhaps out of curiosity, or possibly to send a not-so-subtle message, the manta performed its acrobatic somersault and scooped Josh’s fins between its cephalic fins, spending Josh spinning,” Heinrichs wrote.

Mar 16, 2015

There are divers who say they like to swim freely with large sharks to dispel perceptions that sharks are blood-thirsty predators, and there are divers who counter that these people are mostly thrill-seeking showoffs who are risking their lives and not doing sharks any favors.

The two sides can debate all they want, but the photographer in the accompanying footage, even if the shark was only investigating a potential meal, did come very close to losing his head to the shark.

At the very least, were it not for his cat-like reflexes, it seems as if he would have been bitten. The video, uploaded three weeks ago, was slow to gain traction but it appeared Monday on Fiji’s Beqa Adventure Divers’ blog, under the title, “Attempted Bite!”

Clearly, Beqa Adventure Divers is not a fan of how some divers conduct themselves when diving outside of cages. The blog post contains a photo showing a man’s bloody leg after it was bitten by a shark, followed by the video showing the close call with the photographer. Both locations were said to be Tiger Beach in the Bahamas. The blog post reads:

"And here we go again. This is, undoubtedly, Tiger Beach. And this is the direct consequence of all those idiots, charlatans, media whores, whisperers, warriors, men and girls and whathaveyou that claim to be dispelling the myth by suggesting that those large predatory Sharks are completely harmless.

They are not.

They are not puppies that only want to hug, or whatever, but instead dangerous and potentially lethal wildlife. As a minimum, give them the … respect of acknowledging what they are!”

Tiger Beach is world famous for the close encounters divers enjoy during out-of-cage excursions that involve sharks lured to dive sites with bait. Some operators, however, utilize safer methods than others. And sharks, despite what anyone says, are wild animals and, therefore, unpredictable.

Mar 11, 2015

A Canadian tourist was killed Wednesday off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, after a breaching whale landed on the boat she was aboard as it was returning from a snorkeling trip in the Sea of Cortez.

Several other passengers were injured during the freak accident, which occurred at about noon, as the inflatable boat was returning from Santa Maria Bay, a popular dive spot near Baja California’s tip.

Details were scarce late Wednesday but the victim has been identified as Jeniffer Karren, 35, of Calgary. Six other passengers were hurt.

Karren, from Calgary, died while being treated at a nearby clinic.

A gray whale was initially said to have been involved, but it was later confirmed that it was a humpback whale.

Whales sometimes breach but are usually aware of the presence of nearby boats, especially if the boats are running.

Mar 09, 2015

After Shaggy the stray dog was captured last Thursday, after eluding capture for eight months in Michigan, many people wrote emails and social media comments asking about his health.

Remarkably, after sleeping in ditches and wherever he could find cover, much of the time during severely cold winter months, Shaggy has been given a clean bill.

“He’s in surprisingly good shape,” said Melissa Borden, who runs a care facility for feral dogs called The Devoted Barn. “He’s about 30 pounds underweight, and his fur is matted, but he has no frostbite and no heart worms or tic-borne disease.”

Shaggy has not yet had a bath, or a haircut

Shaggy's only known medical issue is cherry-eye, which affects his eyelid. But it’s not serious, or painful, and will eventually be surgically repaired.

The Newfoundland became famous after he began to appear in Grand Rapids neighborhoods, but was a master at avoiding capture. He outran net guns and was never slowed by tranquilizers, attaining legendary status and earning other nicknames, such as "Bigfoot" and Bear Dog."

The capture effort was stepped up as Michigan fell under winter’s deep freeze, and it finally succeed at a suburban home owned by Jim and Kim Stubbert, who had been feeding Shaggy and even built a shelter for him in their yard.

Shaggy before his capture; photo courtesy of Steve Zaagman/WZZM

On Thursday, with Borden supervising, Shaggy allowed Kim Stubbert to slip a collar around his neck, whereupon he freaked out for only a few moments, before lying down in submission.

[Related] Shaggy the abandoned dog finally captured

Now Shaggy, who is about 2 years old, is trying to get accustomed to living with 13 other feral dogs at The Devoted Barn, which rehabilitates animals in the hope of finding homes for them.

“He’s still playing invisible to us,” Borden said, adding that Shaggy sleeps in a large kennel with other dogs but is allowed several hours a day in a large play room. “But yesterday he ate peanut butter from my hand.”

Shaggy has not yet enjoyed the warm bath some readers wondered about. He’s not quite ready for such a forced and possibly traumatic event, Borden said.

In fact, Shaggy's fur is so matted that he’s going to have to be shaved, making his name sound a bit peculiar. "His coat is basically one big mat," Borden said.

He gets along well with the other dogs, Borden assured, explaining that feral dogs do not quarrel like domesticated dogs, and that they typically accept their place in the pecking order of the pack.

Borden said one of the benefits of having such a famous dog in her care is that he has brought lots of attention to The Devoted Barn, and to the plight of feral dogs, which are mostly abandoned pets.

“Oh Shaggy, this is your story tell. You have captivated our hearts and frustrated us all at the same time. I listened to you and you told me what you wanted. You picked your people and they listened to you too. You trusted them enough to know this was the right time, the time for your new life to begin. You picked an amazing family.

“Now my promise to you, to keep you safe and protected while giving you the perfect environment for you to flourish into a wonderful dog that's trusting and understanding of love."

The Stubberts, Borden acknowledged, are leading candidates to adopt Shaggy when he’s ready to live a normal dog’s life, perhaps in about six months.

Mar 05, 2015

A large brown dog that had eluded capture in Michigan for seven months, winning the hearts of thousands, has finally been caught.

The abandoned Newfoundland, nicknamed Shaggy, had roamed Grand Rapids neighborhoods visibly, often in close proximity to people walking their pet dogs, but would not allow himself to be captured despite attempts with net guns and tranquilizers.

Shaggy in a cage, en route to a rehab facility; photo by Ella Stubbert

The Stubberts spent weeks gaining Shaggy's trust and on Thursday Kim Stubbert, luring Shaggy close with a bowl of dog food and smoked salmon, placed a leash around his collar.

Ella Stubbert, one of the Stubbert's daughters, broke the news on the Help Shaggy Facebook page on Thursday, posting a photo of Shaggy in a cage, wrapped in a purple blanket, with the caption:

“Shaggy is bundled up and heading to start his new life! Finally the collar is off and he no longer has to spend another night in the cold.”

According to WZZM News, which has followed the story for the past several weeks, Shaggy was being delivered to The Devoted Barn, a facility that treats feral dogs and prepares them for adoption, in Newport, Michigan.

Melissa Borden, owner of The Devoted Barn, took the leash after Shaggy had been collared, and told Michigan Live that Shaggy offered only brief resistance.

“It went exactly how I planned it,” Borden said. “He freaked out for about a minute and then gave up and laid down, and I was able to get hold of him.”

The rehabilitation process might take a year or more, Borden said in an earlier interview, because Shaggy, essentially, is a wild animal. But it’s hoped he’ll one day end up in a proper home–perhaps even the home owned by the Stubberts.

Because of Shaggy's thick coat, he was also nicknamed Bigfoot and Bear Dog, according to WZZM News reporter Steve Zaagman.

Mar 04, 2015

Night divers off Hawaii’s Kona coast last weekend marveled not only at the giant mantas they had planned on viewing, but a critically endangered monk seal that interacted with the mantas and the divers for two nights.

It was magical experience from a purely aesthetic standpoint, given the gracefulness of the mantas as they soared in and out of the lights feeding on plankton, and the surprise appearance of an agile and curious seal.

But it was remarkable, also, because Hawaiian monk seals are critically endangered, numbering only 1,100. They're the most endangered mammal in the United States, and one of the rarest mammals in the world.

Most inhabit remote unpopulated islands northwest of the main islands, while only three are known to frequent Big Island waters, including a lone female: the interloper seen in the footage, Waimanu, who is pregnant!

Manta Ray Advocates Hawaii conducts night dives off Kona, at one of only a few global locations that predictably attract the gentle giants, which forage beneath the lights and create a surreal experience for scuba divers and snorkelers.

The group posted the footage to its Facebook page Monday night, inspiring viewers to share it on their pages and chime in with comments.

Wrote a woman named Renata: “Incredibly awesome, breathtaking images. Being the only female one on the Big Island, she must be a lonely seal without any girlfriends and about to give birth! Maybe she will come back with a pup?”

Added a commenter named Whitney: “This made me cry like a baby. Such an incredible thing to see. I can’t even imagine what it was like to see it in person!”

Many were curious about the lettering on the seal. It was painted by researchers, who catalog and monitor Hawaiian monk seals throughout the islands.

According to NOAA, Hawaiian monk seals can weigh nearly 500 pounds and measure about seven feet. They are one of only two monk seal species, the other being the Mediterranean monk seal. A third, the Caribbean monk seal, is extinct.

Hawaiian monk were hunted to the brink of extinction in the late 19th century, and unfortunately they’re still teetering on the brink, threatened by many factors, including changes in food distribution (mainly an issue for pups), entanglement in fishing gear, and human interactions on main island beaches, where they haul out.

Researchers are hopeful that Waimanu's pup will be healthy and live long enough to add to the population.

Great white sharks are rarely caught from the beach anywhere in the world.

They’re a protected species in most areas, too, including Florida, and some on social media expressed disappointment that the anglers pried this shark’s mouth open for the sake of a photograph.

Stated the California-based Marine Conservation Science Institute, on Facebook: “As great as it is to see this handsome male juvenile White shark, it is the responsibility of the angler to release the protected species ASAP once identified, whether they are tagging with a program or not.

“These regulations are set in place to help ensure the survival and safety of the protected species in the end.”

But this was an extremely rare catch. Most of the dozens comments on the Dark Side Sharkers' Facebook page were congratulatory, and the images, understandably, were being widely shared.

–Images of the great white shark, including that of it being released, are via Dark Side Sharkers

Feb 27, 2015

Whale watching does not often involve violence, but this week off Maui, Kate Cummings witnessed and photographed a bonafide clash of titans.

Specifically, several male humpback whales, weighing 30 to 40 tons apiece, fighting to establish dominance in the presence of a female.

This is the end of breeding season in Hawaiian waters, and brawls such as this occur, but rarely are they photographed in such vivid detail (note the blood materializing on the whale’s tubercles).

Cummings, a naturalist who runs Blue Ocean Whale Watch in Monterey, California, provided the sequence for this story.

She has witnessed all sorts of humpback whale activity during the feeding season off Monterey, but the fighting, she said, is far more typical in Hawaii.

“A few years ago I was out on a research boat in Monterey Bay and saw something that looked like competitive behavior–humpbacks chasing each other, doing head lunges etc.,” Cummings said. “I was informed it was most likely competitive group of male humpbacks pursuing a female. I was surprised to hear this since this type of behavior is mostly observed in their breeding grounds.

“But now after seeing what I saw [Wednesday] off Maui, I'm totally convinced it was a competitive group I observed years ago. The males were acting the same way–lots of head lunges (or head rises–whatever you want to call it), surfacing rapidly and rolling to the side in the direction of another whale.

“It was only this time though, that I got to see the bloody tubercles, which made it obvious these guys were competing aggressively.”

The whales now in Hawaiian waters spend the summer feeding off Alaska. The whales that visit Monterey each spring and summer to feed are nearing the end of their breeding season off Mexico.

Cummings was with Ultimate Whale Watch out of Lahaina. The engines were turned off so the only sounds were those of the battling humpbacks.

"They were far off at first, then surfaced next to us only about 50 feet away," Cummings said. "They were so involved in their brawl, yet totally aware of the boat and were able to dive down right next to us within just a few feet without touching the boat."

The images show one whale trying to push another downward.

Imagine the force of 40 tons of fury, then, and the strength required to resist such force.

Here’s hoping the best male humpback whale prevailed, and that the female was satisfied with the result.